SCORING SUMMARY
Mesa Verde 0 0 6 8 — 14
Ripon Christian 7 19 14 0 — 40
First quarter
R — Amos Cady 12 pass from Mason Tameling (Aaron Van Hofwegen kick), 7:36.
Second quarter
R — Cady 14 pass from Tameling (Van Hofwegen kick), 9:13.
R — Lushen Sanders 17 run (kick failed), 4:34.
R — Cady 81 punt return (pass failed), 2:20.
Third quarter
R — Blake Stuit 4 run (Van Hofwegen kick), 6:59.
M — Elijah Colon 3 run (run failed), 5:17.
R — Carson Cho 19 run (Van Hofwegen kick), 0:19.2.
Fourth quarter
M — Cesar Granados 5 run (Elias Uribe run), 7:47.
The Ripon Christian Knights worked on their ground game Friday against visiting Mesa Verde of Citrus Heights.
No doubt RC coach Phil Grams was pleased with the results.
The Knights (4-0) racked 270 rushing yards on 42 attempt in their 40-14 non-league win over the Mavericks (1-2).
Blake Stuit led the way with 73 yards on 14 carries.
But it was Amos Cady who did a bulk of the damage. He scored three touchdowns including two on passes from Mason Tameling.
Cady's other score came on a punt return shortly before halftime.
He scooped up the driving punt and saw plenty of green space ahead while returning the ball from 81 yards out.
"We have a great group of seniors who are truly committed," said Grams.
That group includes Cady, Tameling, and Stuit.
The Knights scored on their opening drive, going 47 yards on 10 plays.
Tameling connected with Cady, who hauled in the pass in the corner end zone.
RC made it 14-0 on its following drive.
Cady, who was used as a safety valve on the play, turned the dump-off pass from Tameling, racing 14 yards for the touchdown.
Lushen Sanders got into act in the second quarter. He powered his way from 17 yards out, and was helped out along the way on his TD run.
RC led 26-0 at the break.
Stuit added to the lead with his 4-yard touchdown run in the third. The big play on that drive was a 47-yard pass play from Tameling to Aaron Van Hofwegen, who did more than handle the kicking chores
On defense, he delivered on four tackles including three solo ones.
Stuit led the way with seven stops, including a sack.
Cory Patrick had a sack to go with his five tackles.
Mason Clark also registered a sack with Amos chipping in with five tackles.
RC closed out the scoring on Carson Cho's 19 yard run towards the end of the third. He tallied 53 yards on just four carries.
Cesar Granados led Mesa Verde with a game-high 93 yards on 17 pops. He and Elijah Colon accounted for the two Maverick TDs.
RC will travel to Hilmar next week to begin Southern League play.
